Chasing the Eternal Dawn
by ShadowBlah2
Summary: In a moment of anger Sasuke says the exact wrong thing, and Naruto realizes once and for all that he's not wanted. And he considered: In another life their roles could have been reversed, and it would be Sasuke leaving the village instead of him.
1. Dawn 1: Betrayal

_Author's Note:_

 _I suppose I should warn you right now, I was not satisfied with many aspects of the original story by Masashi Kishimoto, so I'll make MANY alterations, some small, some large, to the lore, characters, and more within my retelling of Naruto. Consider it AU if that bothers you. I mean, it is anyway, so there's that._

 **Chasing the Eternal Dawn 1: Betrayal**

Slowly Naruto and Sasuke made their way up the steps toward the roof, the battleground where they'd finally settle their rivalry once and for all. It was bright out that day, with only a few puffy white clouds floating against a backdrop of cool blue. The hospital staff had finished one of their endless rounds of laundry, and dozens of racks had been put out for all of it to dry in the soft afternoon breeze.

The two genin, still only kids, didn't pay the tranquil setting a single moment's attention.

Naruto was trembling with anticipation, terrified, but also excited, at the thought of fighting Sasuke, heir to the Uchiha and a prodigy in his own right. Sasuke could barely keep himself in the moment, his eyes losing and regaining focus constantly, the image in front of him blurring between the present and scenes from his memories with every blink. Itachi had insulted him the last time they met, worse than even the night he killed their whole clan. He hardly even acknowledged Sasuke, directing his baleful red gaze down upon Naruto instead.

They stood several paces away from each other, eyeing each other, waiting for the other to move. Naruto scoffed, and Sasuke raised a brow in annoyance.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm not laughing 'cuz it's funny," the blond replied with a smirk. "I'm just psyched. 'cuz I know that today is the day when I finally beat you."

"What did you say?" The mere suggestion of being defeated by a no-name failure like Naruto was appalling to the Uchiha. "Don't talk nonsense, you inept loser!"

Naruto didn't take Sasuke's bait, his smirk only growing wider.

"I won't be such a loser after I win today, will I?"

As the boys continued their verbal sparring Sakura came up the steps and stopped at the entrance, looking from Sasuke to Naruto and back. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Neither of her teammates seemed in the mood to simply test their skills. Their expressions were intense, like the grimaces that appeared on their faces right before battling a particularly dangerous opponent. Except this time their opponent was each other.

Somehow Sakura could tell - could sense it - Team Seven was about to shatter apart forever.

"Let's just do this," Sasuke demanded, falling into a combat stance.

Naruto didn't move.

"Put on your headband and we will. I'll wait."

Sasuke couldn't help but be taken aback by the blond's words. How could he be so concerned about something so inconsequential at a time like this?

"Not to worry. I don't need that thing."

"Just do it," Naruto growled, refusing to let Sasuke have his way. "C'mon!"

Sasuke was unsure how to respond for a moment, but quickly recovered his composure. Naruto was acting like a fool, as always, so, the Uchiha decided, he'd treat him like one. With a cruel grin he made a fist and stuck a thumb out to point toward himself.

"There's no reason to put it on, 'cause you won't be able to make a scratch on my forehead."

"That's not the point!"

Naruto wasn't worried about hurting his friend - Sasuke could take care of himself. What he did care about was honour and respect. By refusing to wear the headband of the Leaf, Sasuke was tacitly implying that they weren't comrades in service of their shared village. He was saying that Naruto didn't deserve to be treated seriously.

It was the worst insult Sasuke could have possibly uttered.

"There you go, acting all high and mighty again!" Sasuke spat once Naruto was done lecturing him about the symbolism of wearing headbands during a fight. "You don't honestly believe that we're equals?"

To his utter disgust, Sasuke listened as Naruto spouted off some drivel about never considering himself inferior to him; to HIM! To think, the guy who couldn't even make a standard clone for his genin exam could be compared to the great Sasuke Uchiha! It was infuriating! It was disgraceful! And in a moment of blind fury, Sasuke snarled out the first words that came to mind.

"You're a complete embarrassment! You were the worst student at the academy and you're still the worst now, and yet you still act like you deserve my respect for some reason? It's no surprise the whole village treats you like the idiot, loudmouth, knuckleheaded monster that you are!"

Sasuke wasn't sure what he expected Naruto to do after that - maybe yell at him and charge, or give a thumbs up and say 'Believe it!' - but it certainly wasn't to go slack, his face contorting into a look of pain and betrayal that surprised the sharingan-wielder enough to drop out of his ready stance. Naruto didn't reply, instead letting his jaw hang and his lips quiver. Sasuke could see with his sharingan the muscles around his friend's eyes tighten in disbelief.

"Well, Naruto?" he taunted. "Are we going to fight, or not?"

Naruto didn't move. He seemed to be confused, lost, as if trapped in a genjutsu. Then, without warning, he turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"HEY!" Sasuke took a step forward and shouted, trying to get Naruto's attention, but it was no use.

Sakura could hardly believe her eyes, and she ran forward to her hyperactive teammate.

"Naruto, hey..." She walked alongside him and reached out to pat him on the shoulder, or embrace him in a hug - she had no idea what she was doing, only that she couldn't go through with it. Naruto's gaze was directed squarely on the floor, his body moving as if in a trance. She felt like she couldn't touch him, give him reassurance that everything was okay. No matter how close Naruto was, Sakura never felt like he was more distant. "You know, you're coming up to the edge of the roof, right?"

Naruto didn't respond. He just kept walking, slowly, lazily, wobbling with each step until he got to the fence to keep people from falling off the building. He hopped just once, up and over, and plummeted to the ground maybe fifty meters below, landing on his feet before continuing forward once more.

It was no surprise he was able to survive the drop without a scratch to show for it. He was a ninja, after all, and even if his training was far from complete, he was still capable of incredible feats that mere civilians couldn't even hope to replicate.

Sakura watched Naruto go, walking through the village in a stupor, words failing her and her body resisting the screaming from her brain to go and chase after him. It was only once she could not longer see him, blending in with the crowds of villagers on their way about the town before evening could set in, that Sakura turned around to see her other teammate, Sasuke still where he was before, his brow furrowed in dull confusion above slowly rotating sharingan eyes.

"Well!?" she demanded suddenly, surprising even herself by yelling at her beloved Sasuke. She surprised herself further when she locked her fists against her hips and marched over to the boy, getting in his face and scowling. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself!?"

"I don't..." Sasuke found himself unable to process what was going on. Naruto had walked off in a sulk and now Sakura was chastising him like she was his mother. It was so backwards he could hardly believe it was all real. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you get it!? You hurt Naruto's feelings! You _really_ hurt his feelings!"

Sasuke frowned and crossed his arms, deactivating his sharingan and looking away.

"It's his own fault for getting upset. Why should I care if he can't handle the truth?"

"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered, drawing the boy's attention again just in time to see her fist collide with his face.

He tumbled to the floor in pain, though to be honest it didn't hurt that much compared to some of the things he'd been through. More than anything, he was simply dumbfounded that Sakura had hit him. The girl was always so cutesy around him, he never thought in all the time they knew each other that she'd ever actually stand up to him in any meaningful way.

"Why should you care?" the girl echoed, mocking his earlier refusal to admit wrongdoing. "You should care because he's your teammate! He's your friend, Sasuke, and you're his! Naruto would die for you, and you don't even care if you make him sad!?"

The pain from her earlier blow finally receded enough for Sasuke to think straight and he sat up, glaring at the pinkette, his black eyes meeting her own green ones.

It was at that moment there was a burst of smoke nearby and Kakashi appeared, disappointment evident in his expression, even with the mask and only one eye visible.

"Alright, you two," he began, stepping over to the genin, "what's going on here?"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura turned to her teacher and pointed down at Sasuke, glowering up at her. "Sasuke said some really hurtful things to Naruto! I've never seen him so shaken up!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"It was nothing he didn't already know. It's the same thing everyone else in the village says about him when they don't think anyone's watching."

"Oh...?" Kakashi raised a brow. "And just what did you say to Naruto, Sasuke?"

"I said he was a loser."

"Anything else?"

"What's the big deal, anyway?" Sasuke finally stood up and brushed himself off, noting with a huff that Sakura was still glaring at him. "Why are you ganging up on me about something so trivial!?"

Kakashi sighed. This was not an ideal situation. For one of the few times in his life he wished he could have arrived earlier and maybe sorted this quarrel out as soon as it started, but as it was now he'd have to play counseller to a trio of angry preteens.

"And where is Naruto now?"

Sakura answered.

"He left, Kakashi-sensei. I don't know where he was going."

Now, that was definitely unlike him, Kakashi thought. Naruto was never the kind of guy to quietly dismiss himself, and if what Sakura said was true, then Sasuke's words had to have been particularly vile.

"Right..." Kakashi shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'm going to go have a chat with Naruto. Sakura-" he looked her in the eye, "-go home. Sasuke-" he looked the boy in the eye, "-go back to your hospital bed and let your body rest."

Kakashi had intended on saying hello to his students and having a friendly reunion after their mission in the Land of Tea, but now that was ruined and he had to be the adult of the team. It was funny, with this, he actually understood what Shikamaru meant when he called things 'a drag'.

Without wasting another second, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke as quickly and easily as he'd first appeared, leaving Sakura and Sasuke along together once more. There was silence between them for only a moment before Sakura huffed in frustration at her teammate.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! Naruto's annoying and all, but that doesn't mean you should treat him like he's less than you. You should apologize."

Sasuke didn't reply at first, somehow finding it difficult to speak or look at Sakura directly. This was not the response she expected.

"Listen to me!" The pinkette grabbed the Uchiha by the collar and pulled him close so he couldn't look away. "You are going to apologize to Naruto the next chance you get, do you hear me!?"

Sasuke couldn't believe what was happening. This was all too absurd. He hesitated, hoping maybe she'd let him go if he just stayed silent long enough, but when Sakura didn't release her iron grip on his shirt he sighed and nodded.

"Alright," he began reluctantly, finally relenting to Sakura's demands, "I'll apologize."

UUUUUUUUU

Naruto sat on his bedside lost in thought. After leaving the hospital he'd shambled in a daze back to his home, kicking his sandals off once he was through the door and plopping down to think.

Sasuke had called him a monster. The words had hit him harder than Zabuza's fists during Team Seven's first real mission in the Land of Waves. He had no idea Sasuke felt that way about him. True, he'd been harsh before and constantly called him names, but Naruto was used to all that, and thought he could see past the words to grasp what Sasuke really meant. He was pretty proud of himself for that, actually. It made him feel like a true ninja, looking underneath the underneath.

But this...

Despite his show of hostility toward Sasuke, Naruto had respected him - had held him as an ideal warrior and a model of how he wanted to be some day. He'd wanted to be as strong as Sasuke, and to be as precise and cunning as Sasuke. He wanted the girls to flock to him like Sasuke. He wanted to be fearless in the face of danger, wanted to have an endless supply of tricks and jutsus like Sasuke. He was sour to be around most times, but Naruto revered him all the same. It was why he was so desperate to fight him at the hospital - to earn his recognition and approval as a worthy rival - and perhaps that was also why Naruto felt so betrayed.

To Naruto, Sasuke was more than a mere comrade, he was a hero in the making unlike any other he'd ever seen. And yet the Uchiha had called him a monster just like any other villager in the Leaf. So he knew about the Nine-Tails...

Was this how Gaara had felt - when Gaara lost Yashamaru, had learned his uncle's true opinion of him? When the one person he needed the approval of the most declared his hatred for Gaara it broke him, turned him into a monster in human flesh that killed just to feel alive himself. His whole worldview had fallen apart in an instant.

But while Naruto came into Gaara's life to offer him a hand, to help pull him from the pit of despair he'd found himself in, Naruto wondered just who was going to help him now that he was in the same position.

He sat still on his bed, his mind racing for a solution, some reason to forget about the whole incident at the hospital and go see his team like nothing ever happened. He just needed someone to reassure him...

"Naruto."

Naruto had left his window open to get some fresh air in the house, and he looked over to find Kakashi crouching on the sill, watching him carefully.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," he greeted quietly, none of his usual enthusiasm in his tone.

Kakashi stepped off the ledge and into Naruto's home, not speaking as he approached his bedstand and picked up the frame containing a photo of Team Seven. Sakura was smiling, ignoring Naruto and Sasuke as they glared at each other, and from behind them Kakashi was grinning cheerfully behind his mask, his hands ruffling the boys' hair.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Kakashi wondered, looking up from the picture, still held in his hand. In reply Naruto cocked his head to the side, as if unsure how to answer, then nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just tired."

"Ah yes, from your mission in the Land of Tea? I'd heard about that. I'm sorry I wasn't available to go along."

Kakashi studied Naruto's reaction, though making sure not to seem too interested, thankful for the mask that obscured his face. The boy didn't seem alright. For starters, he wasn't jumping and running and generally just fidgeting like he usually was, the orange-clad bundle of energy hardly staying still for long. Instead he sat on his bed, arms resting on his thighs and his head hanging low. There was no cheer in his voice and he made a minimal effort to respond as Kakashi tried to make small talk.

Since Naruto wasn't interested in talking, Kakashi took the lead and continued, putting a firmness into his tone like he imagined parents sounded when they caught their child misbehaving.

"Do you know why I asked you how you were doing?" Again, no reply from Naruto and not so much as a twitch. "Sakura tells me you and Sasuke had a little argument back at the hospital."

Still nothing from Naruto. It was starting to get unnerving. Kakashi had the sudden urge to pull up his headband and reveal his sharingan, the mystical red eye allowing him to pick up on slight differences that were hidden from plain sight: The rise and fall of Naruto's chest as he breathed - was it regular, or was it deliberate? Naruto's eyes - were they calm, or were they twitching with sadness or fury? Naruto was normally pretty easy to read, but for once, just what was going on inside the boy's head was a complete mystery to Kakashi. But even so, he didn't dare make a move; using the sharingan would no doubt escalate the situation and give Naruto the wrong impression about what was going on, so Kakashi fought the urge back and stood still.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew Sasuke didn't mean it," he continued finally, putting the picture of his team back down and looking straight down at Naruto. "Sometimes we say things in the heat of the moment that we regret."

For some reason Kakashi had expected Naruto to cheer up after that, but he still didn't move, seemingly lost in thought. Whatever Sasuke had said it must have been beyond awful to put the genin in front of him in a such a sullen mood, and the longer he observed, the more sure Kakashi was that he knew exactly what words had been uttered.

One last time Kakashi verbally prodded at Naruto, hoping this time he'd get some kind of reaction.

"Sasuke should get out of the hospital and be ready for training by tomorrow. I have to get going on another mission before then, but I'm going to have him apologize to you when you all assemble for training in the morning."

After a tense moment of silence Naruto finally answered, his tone low and sour.

"Don't bother..."

Kakashi raised a questioning brow, but before he could say anything Naruto's head shot up, a cheerful grin plastered across his face.

"You said Sasuke didn't mean it," the boy chirped, no trace of his former melancholy to be found, "so what does he have to apologize for?"

At this, the silver-haired jonin blinked. Once. Twice. Then he chuckled, his initial surprise giving way to genuine relief. He clapped Naruto's back then leaned in to ruffle his hair, smiling so wide it could be seen behind the fabric of his mask.

"You know, Naruto," he said warmly, "you're really something."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

"I still expect you to meet with the rest of Team Seven for training though. Be there bright and early."

Naruto joined in on his sensei's laughter and smirked.

"Maybe we'll actually get something done since we won't be waiting for you!"

Kakashi laughed again, louder this time, completely sure his work was done and a potential crisis was averted. Naruto really reminded him of Minato when he joked around like that.

With a small salute to signal his goodbye, Kakashi stepped toward the window and disappeared into a puff of smoke, smiling as broadly as could be. Naruto's own smile didn't fade as his sensei made his leave, and he flopped onto his back, stretching his arms out across his bed and letting out a long, relaxed breath.

He lay there for some time in an easy silence before sitting up once more, moving to take off his coat and throw himself to the floor, pushing himself up and down.

Hours passed as Naruto exercised, training his body in silence and solitude, maintaining a constant flow of chakra to every extremity to sharpen his control. He stopped a few times to get a drink and cook up some instant ramen, but the bulk of the afternoon, drifting into evening and eventually night, was spent training.

It was only once the sun had set and the stars loomed high, casting their light through his open window, that Naruto finally set about going to bed. He showered and brushed his teeth, then took off his headband, setting it reverently down upon his bedtable right beside his photo of Team Seven.

With a yawn, he stretched his arms and got into bed, smiling pleasantly as he shut his eyes and slowly drifted off.

NNNNNNN

Naruto's eyes shot open and he threw off his blankets. It was still night, just before the very darkest hour when the clouds hung low, sponging up the light of the moon, and the young ninja flew into action. He grabbed his pack and emptied everything out of it, a few trinkets, scrolls, a shuriken or two, and more, then scurried to his kitchen cupboards and began stuffing the bag with everything he could lay his hands on. In one swift motion he would pluck a packet of ramen and fling it down into his pack, then he'd be on to the next item: More ramen, bottles of water, cans of preserved goods, more ramen, and so on.

When he was done pillaging his kitchen Naruto switched his focus, almost as fluid as if he were dancing, descending upon his caches of ninja tools, placing several kunai and shuriken into his leg pouch and strapping it on, then scooping up the rest of it and dropping it onto his dining table. He pulled a blank scroll, a brush, and a bottle of ink from one disorganized pile on the floor and set them down, quickly drawing out a series of symbols and shuffling the remaining tools onto it.

He wasn't a seal expert - far from it - but beside making explosive tags, storage was among the easiest and flexible seals a ninja would learn in his hopefully long career. Naruto had seen it used to exceptional effect by Tenten during her fight against Temari, and, he presumed, against any other opponent, her Twin Rising Dragon technique would have been quite a terror to contend with.

He made a few handsigns and with a puff of smoke the assembled items disappeared, the ink on the scroll twisting and changing to indicate what was sealed inside.

Without a second look Naruto tossed the scroll in his bag and moved on.

Next he searched through a pile of clothes on the floor and pulled out a fresh orange jumpsuit, giving a short, approving look before repeating the sealing process, using another blank scroll found among the heaps of items around his apartment.

Lastly Naruto grabbed his toothbrush and threw it into his bag with everything else, then put on the orange coat he'd worn earlier that day.

Not sparing another look, he pulled the straps of his bag over his shoulders and adjusted to the weight, then turned to leap out his still-open window. Something caught his eye before he could, however. The last rays of moonlight, before the clouds could swallow them up until dawn, glinted off something in Naruto's apartment, and he paused to glance at his bedtable.

His headband. A chunk of metal with the symbol of the Leaf engraved upon it, stitched against a simple blue band of cloth.

Naruto hesitated, if only for a moment, caught between the need for haste and the desire to linger a little longer. He stared longingly at his headband, that one item marking him as a full ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village, that had been with him during good times and bad, when he defeated Haku in the Land of Waves and when he was defeated by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death.

There was no time left for indecision. Naruto took several long strides over and snatched his headband, stuffing it into a pocket then reatreating through the window, not so much as noticing when the movement rocked the bedtable and caused the pictureframe of Team Seven to wobble and flop over.

NNNNNNN

Naruto moved with speed and silence through the town under the cover of darkness on his way toward the village gates. Hardly a soul else was out at this hour, and after the joint attack by the Sound and the Sand, security was at an all-time low, allowing him to steal through the streets unseen.

'Liars!' he thought to himself, somehow managing to keep his mouth shut in the meantime. 'Do they really hate me so much!? Do they really think I'm so stupid that I can't see through it all?'

He still couldn't believe Sasuke had called him a monster, that single word striking him harder since it came from him than it ever had from anyone else in his entire life. It was true, he'd said it in a moment of anger, but in his anger, Naruto could tell, Sasuke blurted out his true feelings - the feelings he normally was able to keep hidden behind his usual cold exterior. And then Kakashi tried to tell him that wasn't so! The jonin probably hated him too, but just like everyone else didn't want to say it. Or couldn't.

Naruto knew better. He'd seen it in Sasuke's eyes.

At first he hadn't been able to think, shock dulling his mind to the point of complete inactivity. Then he tried to deny what had happened - the wind was pretty loud on the hospital rooftop, so maybe he was just hearing things...? But he just couldn't do it. He knew what Sasuke said and there was no point in trying to ignore it.

Then he tried to delude himself that it wasn't true, that Sasuke didn't mean it, just as Kakashi later asserted. But no matter how Naruto tried to convince himself, he simply couldn't. Sasuke's eyes on that rooftop had held an anger - an utter disgust - that Naruto knew well. His eyes, though shining with the chilling glory of the sharingan, were the same as the villagers when they insulted him - as if he weren't even deserving of Sasuke's contempt.

Naruto really thought he was beginning to change people's attitutudes towards him. After becoming a genin he'd started going on missions and making a name for himself as the single most unpredictable ninja in the village. He'd fought with the terrible Zabuza Momochi and lived to tell the tale. He made it through every round of the hellish Chunin Exams. Someday he would be Hokage and everyone would love and respect him.

But now he knew that was a lie.

Nothing he'd done had made a difference. The villagers still whispered behind his back, but he didn't mind that so much. But Sasuke... Sasuke was the only one, he figured, who could understand him. Sure, Sasuke had a family and lost it whereas Naruto never had one, but the feeling of emptiness they shared was similar enough, and no one else their age had experienced anything even close to their lonliness. They were made brothers the second Sasuke lost everything and fell to Naruto's level.

And yet, Sasuke still rejected him.

"Hm!" Naruto grunted derisively, thinking back on Kakashi's words when he tried to reassure him that everything was alright. "I'll _bet_ he regrets what he said. Now I know what he really thinks and he can't laugh at me behind my back anymore!"

Up until this point everything made sense to Naruto. Everything in the world was orderly and balanced. Team Seven were the good guys of their own little story and always stuck together and always beat the odds. Now that was all thrown into question. With Sasuke's one little reference to the Nine-Tailed Fox within him, Naruto found himself wondering if there ever was such a thing as a bond of friendship between himself and his teammates in the first place. With one look into those hateful red eyes Naruto could see the truth that he'd somehow been blind to for so long: Sasuke was not his friend, and probably never had been.

And if Sasuke, the one person he felt closest to, really thought so little of him, then, Naruto figured, there was no way the others he'd met and befriended since becoming a ninja could truly care for him as he once believed. Kakashi hated him; that's why he left to train Sasuke instead of him before the Chunin Exam Finals. Sakura refused him every time he tried to tell her that he liked her, the Pervy Sage and Granny Tsunade both thought he was an annoyance... Jiraiya only taught him jutsus so he'd go away, allowing him more time to do research for his stupid books!

Iruka...

Naruto wasn't sure about Iruka, but it hardly mattered anymore. Iruka was the only one who knew what Naruto was, a vessal for the Nine-Tails, but still didn't care, even going as far as to take a potentially lethal blow from Mizuki's shuriken, that night feeling so distant now. It would be hard leaving him, the scarred man as close to a father as Naruto had ever had, but ultimately, because Iruka cared - genuinely cared - he'd also understand why Naruto had to go.

The village gates loomed high in front of Naruto, and he looked them up and down apprehensively.

He considered others he'd met, and whose lives he'd changed: Idate, Inari, Tazuna, Neji... They had no idea about the Nine-Tails being sealed within him, and, he imagined, as soon as they found out, they'd turn on him, all the life lessons he'd beat into them with his fists being abandoned on the spot. If even Sasuke thought of him as a freak after all this time, what hope was there that the others wouldn't reject him too? Waiting for his heart to break, again and again as those he called friends found out his secret, wasn't worth it. He'd break those bonds now before they grew too strong - before they could be broken by someone else and hurt him twice as much.

As he stood in silence, his eyes tracing the shape of the gates in front of him, taking in every detail and memorizing it, Naruto's thoughts briefly turned to Gaara, and he nodded to himself. Yes, Gaara could be considered the truest friend he'd ever made. Only Gaara fully understood what it meant to be hated by everyone and treated like a monster. Not even Sasuke, so fawned over by the rest of the village and especially, most frustratingly, by Sakura as well, could claim that level of isolation, and, Naruto thought, it was a shame that they were born so far apart.

But as with Iruka, just because Gaara could be considered a true friend didn't help Naruto in the slightest at the moment, and it didn't dissuade him from his choice either.

Naruto took a step forward, hands grasping the straps of his pack tightly, trembling at the magnitude of what he was about to do. He was about to leave the Leaf Village. He was going to leave and be classified as a rogue ninja. He'd never be Hokage. But then, that had never been an option anyway, had it? He could grow to be a ninja legend just like the Fourth, but if no one respected him then he'd never be chosen as Tsunade's successor anyway, so it was a pointless endeavor. And though at times Naruto had fought on, even when it was indeed pointless to struggle, right now he somehow seemed to lack the energy for it.

Steeling himself, Naruto leapt up atop the gates and gazed down at the world below and outside the Leaf - the world that would be his freedom from the harsh looks and hushed words that accompanied his every day in the village. Where would he go? He spent only a moment to think before coming to his conclusion.

Then, finally, Naruto leapt down, leaving the village behind him, not sparing so much as a single glance back as he departed forever.

NNNNNNN


	2. Dawn 2: Reversed

_Fun Fact:_

 _In this story Tobi is a good boy._

 **Chasing the Eternal Dawn 2: Reversed**

The sun was only starting to rise over the horizon as Sasuke and Sakura made their way to Training Ground Three for a full day of honing their bodies and minds. She'd met him first thing in the morning as he was being discharged from the hospital, Naruto surprisingly not in tow, and no words were traded on their brief journey across town.

Sasuke wanted to get to work - to improve as quickly as possible - and since his whole body no longer ached he didn't feel the need to go home before beginning the day. It wasn't like there was anything waiting there for him anyway. Sakura simply wanted to get her teammates together so they could reconcile and move on. And if they managed to get a little stronger from the day's training then all the better.

But even after arriving at their destination, Naruto was still nowhere to be found. He wasn't waiting for them by the fence nor was he already on the grass sparring with a dozen shadow clones, and he wasn't walking along the path to meet them either. There were no loud promises to one day become hokage and no chirps of 'Believe it!'. There was only the silence of the village just before dawn, and with some impatience Sasuke crossed his arms and sat down in a huff outside the grounds to keep a lookout for his errant teammate.

Sakura frowned but eventually took a seat on the dirt road beside him, dropping her cheeks onto outstretched palms and sighing.

"Don't forget, Sasuke," she reminded, "you're going to tell Naruto you're sorry about insulting him yesterday."

Sasuke in turn rolled his eyes but hummed in reluctant assent, his attention directed entirely on the road leading from Naruto's apartment.

Time went on and the sun rose high in the sky, and yet no matter how long they waited Naruto never arrived. Kakashi of course was away on a mission, but the hyperactive blond had no reason of his own to not show up, made all the stranger to the present members of Team Seven since Naruto normally adored training. It was an opportunity to show off, and he wouldn't miss the chance except for a bowl of ramen.

The morning dragged on, and as Sakura was starting to get worried, Sasuke was starting to get annoyed.

"Let's go." The girl in question looked up at him curiously as he stood from his spot on the path and stormed off. "If that loser doesn't want to come and train, then we'll go to him."

Sakura blinked in surprise at Sasuke's declaration, but quickly recovered, getting to her feet and chasing after the Uchiha. Once she'd caught up she matched his pace to walk alongside him, never behind, never in his shadow, and despite the sheer distance they had to cover across the metropolis of the Leaf the two made good time on their way to Naruto's home. Neither of them had ever actually been to the jinchuuriki's apartment, but at least they knew the way, and upon arriving they each shared a moment of astonishment at what they saw.

"It's so..." Sakura began, searching for words to describe Naruto's building only for Sasuke to finish the thought for her.

"Dumpy."

The exterior may have previously been plain at one point, but at the moment it was a fascinating canvas of cracks and flaking paint, and to the genin it seemed the whole place was long overdue for some renovations. When they stepped up to the front door and knocked, the doorknob shook, and upon closer analyzation Sasuke found it was quite loose.

They knocked again and waited for some response but none ever came, and with a grunt of frustration Sasuke knocked one last time, the door barely resisting his blows before creaking open, putting the inside of Naruto's home on display: The front door opened into a short hallway, a couple pairs of blue sandals resting haphazardly on its floor, and beyond that the pair of shinobi could see it split off into a kitchen on the left, and going forward was only a single open door.

With caution, Sasuke entered Naruto's home, stopping by the entrance to rap his knuckles against the wall.

"Hey, Naruto!" he called. "Let's go already!"

There was only silence in response, and with a grunt the Uchiha marched through the hall toward what was presumably Naruto's room, Sakura following shortly behind, neither bothering to take off their sandals. They shared a glance into the kitchen along the way, each noting something about it looked off - something they couldn't quite place. It was simultaneously a mess and also perfectly clean.

The genin entered Naruto's room and were immediately overwhelmed by the disorder and obnoxious decorations before them. Clothing was strewn about, empty, unwashed bowls and more occupying every square centimeter of the floor. There was a poster dedicated to noodles and a small potted tree next to an unmade bed, and a bizarre nightcap hung from a clothesline near the window. But most glaring of all was what was missing: Naruto himself.

Sasuke's frown deepened as he scanned the room. Naruto could just be out doing errands or something else fittingly mundane, but for some reason he couldn't accept that answer. Something was wrong. He just knew it.

With a thought his eyes went crimson, and he looked the room over once more with his sharingan, certain they'd help him pick up some clue as to Naruto's whereabouts, hidden from normal sight. Then he realized what he'd been missing before. He dashed forward and threw open each drawer of Naruto's dresser. Then he went to Naruto's closet. He scowled and turned back to the entry where Sakura was staring questioningly, and he ran over, pushing past her. He practically flew into the kitchen, his head turning back and forth and his eyes racing as well, taking in details faster than any mere mortal. But try as he might, he couldn't find it. Sasuke couldn't find Naruto's backpack.

Why would Naruto have taken his pack with him if he was just going into town? Sasuke had seen the other boy go shopping before, and he knew he never brought the plain blue bag with him. As far as he knew, Naruto only used it on missions away from the village. There had to be another reason why it was gone.

On closer inspection Sasuke also discovered what was amiss about the kitchen. Every cupboard door was open and many of them were bare, and there was an odd arrangement of items on the floor, like they'd been pulled out of the cupboards and tossed aside in a rush.

The details just weren't adding up though, and without a word Sasuke bounded back to Naruto's room, pushing past Sakura once more to stop in the center.

"Sasuke," Sakura began in a huff, slightly perturbed at being shoved aside and not being privy to whatever the Uchiha was trying to do. Before she could finish though, Sasuke slowly turned his head and stopped to stare at Naruto's bedtable, his eyes scrunching in suspicion.

"No..." His voice was low and disbelieving, and he crept toward the bedtable as if in a trance, his eyes fixed on one point. "It couldn't be..."

When he got to the bedtable he reached out a hand to something atop it, a wooden picture frame lying facedown on its surface. He hesitated before his fingers reached the frame, then delicately took hold of one edge, lifting it to see the hidden photo. Without realizing it Sasuke's mouth had fallen open, and as he looked upon the picture in its frame his eyes went wide, then narrowed once more, in shock, in anger, in sadness, or perhaps all three.

He lowered his gaze to the floor then spoke, sounding utterly defeated.

"He's gone."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow at the declaration then stepped over to join Sasuke, taking the picture frame from his loose grasp to see for herself what had shaken him so thoroughly. It was the same picture she had at home, of herself and her team. And instantly she knew...

"He couldn't have..." she whispered.

"Naruto left the Leaf Village," Sasuke said matter-of-factly, confirming that they'd come to the same conclusion. He was silent for a moment, but then he growled, his hands balling into fists and his whole body tensing. He clenched his teeth and snarled. "What was he thinking!? That idiot!"

Without another word Sasuke ran around Naruto's bed to his open window, stepping onto the sill and stopping before jumping out as Sakura called to him.

"What're you doing?"

He looked back to her with determination in his eyes, returning to black as he deactivated his sharingan.

"I'm going to find Naruto so I can beat some sense into him!"

And with that he pushed off the sill and jumped to a nearby rooftop, running and jumping to the next and the next until he was out of sight.

Sakura blinked as she watched Sasuke leave, still a little shocked by the revelation that Naruto had gone, but somehow knowing, just as Sasuke had, that it was the case. Her mind was racing, questions turning over in her head, of why he would go in the first place and if it was even possible for her to have stopped him. Whether it was a good thing or not that Naruto was gone never even occured to her. Her teammate had simply given up on her and on Sasuke, and that fact left her feeling more hollow than ever before in her life.

A minute passed as Sakura stood alone and in silence, her brain filtering through information at a feverish pace, trying to discern when and why Naruto had decided he'd had enough of being part of Team Seven. Then, finally, she snapped back to reality and her thoughts turned in a different direction. She had to do something. She had to tell someone.

Sakura spun in place and bolted out of Naruto's room, running full speed through the hallway and out the door, not looking back as she sped in the direction of the Hokage Tower.

HHHHHHHH

As Sasuke sped through the village, staying to the rooftops to avoid the people on the ground, he scowled, his thoughts twisting and his fury growing.

'That idiot!' he thought to himself for what seemed like the hundredth time in a row. 'I insult him a little bit then he goes and does something this drastic!? Dammit, Naruto!'

It was strange actually, Sasuke considered between bouts of internal swearing. Just yesterday he wouldn't have cared if Naruto was dead. He wouldn't have cared about a lot of things. But Naruto leaving so suddenly, so unexpectedly, struck Sasuke with an unshakable feeling of rage and confusion.

It was not an unfamiliar set of feelings for him. This had happened before, long ago, on a night that was burned into his memory forever. After Itachi had finished killing his clan and torturing him with his sharingan, he abandoned the village - abandoned Sasuke. And now Naruto was doing the same. He hadn't committed any heinous act, as far as Sasuke knew, but the jubilant knucklehead's departure still left Sasuke with the same awful, empty feeling as when Itachi left, and he found himself acting in response, without thought, the only desire he had being to find and drag him home whether he liked it or not.

Within minutes Sasuke was at the village gates and jumped from a roof to the ground, seeing two chunin in grey uniforms at the entrance and exit checkpoint. He didn't slow down even slightly as they smiled and waved to him.

"Hey, Sasuke," one of them greeted pleasantly, as if he should know them. Then the other spoke.

"What's the rush?"

"Naruto left the village!" Sasuke grunted back in a rush, running right past the two guards. "I'm gonna go get him!"

He took a running jump and leapt up and over the gate in a single motion, leaving the two chunin behind in bewilderment. They turned to meet each other's eyes, each silently questioning the other if what he'd seen and heard actually happened.

At length, Kotetsu sighed and shook his head.

"This isn't good."

Izumo frowned and furrowed his brow.

"We better tell the hokage."

UUUUUUUU

Tsunade sat in grim contemplation, her fingers steepled in front of her face as she processed what Sakura was telling her. She'd had no warning before the pinkette suddenly threw open her door and started recounting what appeared at first to be simple drama between teammates, but as she began to wonder how Sakura made it into her office past security, she reached the climax of her story, and the hokage's blood ran cold.

"Are you sure about this, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, deadly serious, emphasizing each word. "You have to be sure."

Sakura didn't hesitate before nodding back with absolute conviction, her expression a mix of sincerity and dread.

"Sasuke said he was going after him."

Whatever Sasuke may have thought about his decision to pursue Naruto, Tsunade considered it the worst possible course of action for the Uchiha to take. There were too many people interested in him - for all the right and the wrong reasons - for him to be running about outside without backup. Nevertheless, the Fifth Hokage remained impassive, not letting a single emotion slip through her careful mask of professionalism. The only concession she afforded herself was to close her eyes and let out a long, heavy breath of frustration.

This was serious. This was more serious, perhaps, even than when the Chunin Exams were interrupted by an all-out surprise attack. She wasn't in the village at the time, but she'd heard about it later, and she knew that while the Sand and Sound had inflicted grievous damage to the Leaf and its people, claiming even the life of her teacher Hiruzen, it was only one attack that was ultimately repelled.

When she became hokage Tsunade was granted access to all the secrets of the village, so she knew quite well that Naruto was a jinchuuriki, a vessel for an unstoppable monster formed of pure chakra, and was considered a last-ditch superweapon for the Leaf, capable of bringing ruin to all his foes with a mere roar and swish of his tails. The devastation caused by the Chunin Exams Invasion would pale in comparison to his power once he learned to unleash it, so if he were to be captured by a rival village...

Tsunade refused to think about it. She didn't know why Naruto left the village, but she could only believe that he would be back soon. She wasn't exactly pleased that Sasuke went off to fetch him without her order, but it was too late to do anything about that. Her only option was to make sure he succeeded.

At that moment the door to Tsunade's office banged open and closed once more as Kotetsu and Izumo burst in looking panicked.

"Lady Hokage!" Kotetsu addressed between gasps for air.

"We saw Sasuke Uchiha at the gates!" Izumo continued where Kotetsu left off, out of breath and gasping just the same as his friend. "He says that Naruto abandoned the village!"

Tsunade opened her eyes to meet her two aides' gaze, keeping up her perfect illusion of calm.

"Yes, I am aware," she replied slowly. "It's good that you two are here. I have an order for you."

Tsunade unclasped her fingers and lowered her arms to place each palm gently on the desk in front of her. Her movements were measured, but it was obvious to everyone in the office that she was livid and barely restraining herself. She continued to speak, her voice full with authority and her tone icy.

"Find Shikamaru Nara and tell him he has an emergency summons from the hokage. Do not speak of what's happened to anyone. Do not draw attention to yourselves. As far as the world should know, everything is completely normal in the Hidden Leaf Village." She paused to punctuate her statement with a wicked glare. "Now go."

Kotetsu and Izumo spared only a nod each then disappeared in two puffs of smoke, leaving Tsunade and Sakura alone once again. The hokage stood up and walked out from behind her desk, eyeing Sakura dangerously before finally addressing her.

"As for you, Sakura, I have a very important, secret mission."

Sakura nodded once and tensed.

"I understand, Lady Hokage," she said from behind a tight grimace. "I'll wait for Shikamaru here so we can help Sasuke get Naruto back together."

"No."

It was only one word but it was enough. Sakura balked at Tsunade's answer, losing all composure.

"'No'!? What do you mean 'no'!?"

Despite the clear show of disrespect, Tsunade hardly reacted. She'd lived too long and seen too much to lose control over herself because of a child's insolence.

"Your mission is even more important than bringing Naruto back to the Leaf. I want you to transform into Naruto and go back to his home. Stay there and stay transformed until this crisis is settled."

"What?" Sakura couldn't make sense of the order. "Why?"

Tsunade lowered her head and her face darkened as if she were remembering something awful, and when she gave her explanation her voice was not nearly as sure or commanding, coming out just above a whisper.

"I am the hokage, but that does not mean I rule the Leaf. There are other forces in play within the village, and we dare not catch their attention."

Sakura felt a chill down her spine as Tsunade spoke her cryptic reply, and all at once she felt as though a hundred unseen eyes were watching her from every direction - watching and making note of everything she was doing. And, strangely, it looked to Sakura as though Tsunade felt the same way.

HHHHHHHH

It hardly took a minute of speeding through the forest for Sasuke to fall into the familiar rhythm of tree-hopping that was the preferred method of travel for Leaf shinobi. He leapt from one treebranch to the next, faster than any normal man could run on the ground, and watched the world below go by, searching for a glimpse of orange as a single phrase rolled incessantly about in his mind.

'Idiot! Naruto, you idiot!'

If he had to be truthful, Sasuke couldn't really be sure where Naruto was headed, but he had a feeling it was west - perhaps toward the Sand Village? - and he was betting everything on his intuition being correct. If he couldn't pick up Naruto's trail soon then that was it. Naruto could be almost a full day ahead of him already, and if he got too much farther away there'd be no chance of locating him aside from sending out a dozen tracking teams. And even then, they'd take too long to organize and deploy, only increasing Naruto's lead and the amount of territory to cover in search of him.

Sasuke's scowl deepened as he jumped from tree to tree, forcing himself to think about something else, but only managing to push the constant loop of calling Naruto an idiot to the back of his mind. What came to the forefront was hardly any better.

'What am I doing?' he considered to himself. 'Why do I care if that idiot leaves? Why should I care?'

It simply didn't make sense, at least, that's what he told himself. There was no good reason for him to care about Naruto. He was loud and annoying, and although it seemed he was starting to improve as a fighter he still only ever bothered sending hordes of shadow clones to wear his opponents down. If Naruto left, Sasuke could just get a new teammate, or go without, and either way Team Seven would be better off. But no matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise, Sasuke knew there was a reason he was chasing after the dead-last, least likely to succeed ninja from the academy. He wouldn't admit it, but he knew - he knew that Naruto was his...

All at once Sasuke was snapped back to reality as he noticed four shadows behind him, and as he soared between treebranches he flipped without warning, changing his course and landing on the grass and dirt below, sharingan active and arms up in a combat stance. The shadows had been a fair distance away, presumably to avoid being seen while they tailed him, but with Sasuke now aware of their presence they didn't waste any time in catching up.

In an instant four figures blurred into existance behind Sasuke, and he turned to face them, getting a good look at the mismatched team of what were apparently ninja, only one of them wearing a headband, the symbol of the Sound Village emblazoned upon it. They each wore tan tunics with a ridiculous purple belt, and as Sasuke looked them up and down he knew he wasn't going to like them. They reminded him too much of that invincible genin he'd met in the Forest of Death, later identified as Orochimaru.

The first among them was a girl with pinkish red hair and cruel, narrowed eyes. The next was a large boy, not quite fat, but still unhealthy-looking, whose haircut was among the worst Sasuke had ever seen, being shaved into three orange strips, one on the top and one on each side of his head. Beside him was... Sasuke could only assume it was a boy. Maybe. Its hair was grey and long enough to comb over one beady eye, and its lips were daubed in an unsettling green lipstick. Lastly was a freak of nature, a tan-skinned boy with six arms, the same one Sasuke earlier noted to be wearing his headband in front of long, pulled-back hair.

The thought of stopping to chat with these disconcerting characters didn't even enter Sasuke's mind as he stared them down. They didn't belong in the Land of Fire, he knew, but right at that moment he didn't care. They might have had a dastardly plot to destroy the Leaf, but Sasuke didn't care. All that mattered to him was finding Naruto. And no one was going to stop him.

"I'm only going to give you a single warning," he growled dangerously, eyes flashing crimson with hate, "I don't know who you are, and I don't care. What I do know is I'm busy right now, and you're in my way, so move aside before I lose my patience."

"Oh," the girl among them scoffed derisively, "a tough guy, huh?"

Next to speak was the one wearing makeup, revealing itself to be male.

"I think you'll make time for us once we introduce ourselves." His voice was slimey and surprisingly deep, and his words were tinged with smugness.

"We're the Sound Ninja Four," the spidery ninja added, finally getting to the point. "I'm Kidomaru of the East Gate."

"And I'm Sakon of the West Gate."

The biggest of their group went next, followed quickly with a smirk from the girl.

"I am Jirobo of the South Gate."

"And I'm Tayuya of the North Gate."

As a reply Sasuke figured a chidori would be appropriate, but they didn't even give him the chance to start his handsigns before moving in to attack all at once. The Sound ninja fanned out around Sasuke, Sakon getting behind him faster than his sharingan could trace while Jirobo and Tayuya came from each side. Kidomaru charged from the front, all six arms at the ready, hands balled into tight fists. Their coordination was perfect, encircling Sasuke on all sides in hardly a blink's time, but they couldn't have predicated the power of an Uchiha's eyes, and as quickly as their assault began, it ended.

In one swift movement Sasuke caught Kidomaru's punch and hurled him over his shoulder right onto Sakon, using the spider's forward momentum against them both. He glanced to each side then dashed toward Jirobo, dodging the heavy swing of his fist and jumping to deliver a spinning mid-air kick to his head. The large boy was thrown out of the way just as Tayuya closed the distance with them, but Sasuke's kick had also turned him fully around so he was facing her when she arrived. She threw a quick punch, but he was quicker, snatching out and grabbing her wrist before the blow could collide, then countering, heaving his own fist against her cheek and sending her sprawling.

The so-called Sound Ninja Four seemed to think they were dangerous opponents, but Sasuke was disgusted at how easy it was to put them down. From what they'd shown so far, he wasn't confident if they could even beat Sakura.

Then he noticed something was wrong. The four Sound ninja were laying still and defeated, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he whipped around, raising his arm to block a surprise kick from Sakon. He'd realized just in time that they'd used substitution, their bodies on the ground bursting into smoke with four logs in their places.

"You're not bad," Sakon hissed with dark glee, dropping his raised leg and flipping back to escape Sasuke's counterattack, a horizontal chop with his fingers extended. "However..."

Before Sasuke could pursue Sakon, Kidomaru was on him again, loosing a flurry of punches with his six arms. There was no way to counter - Sasuke was sure of it. He could see the moves coming with his sharingan, if only barely, but he couldn't react to all of them at once while also retaining the initiative, so he was forced to go on the defensive. He changed his footing and stepped back, blocking every strike that was close enough to land and simply avoiding the rest.

Sasuke heard something above him and glanced up, then leapt away as Jirobo crashed onto the ground where he was just standing, then dodging again to avoid Tayuya as she rushed at him from the side. She was switching up her attacks between rapid punches and precise kicks that whistled through the air, and Sasuke was forced to take several steps back as she advanced, though he was hardly concerned. Before she could press her advantage Sasuke regained his footing and weaved around Tayuya's guard, driving his elbow into her abdomen and causing her to double over, then slamming the heel of his open palm against her nose.

The female Sound ninja was thrown back hard, landing in a heap a distance away from Sasuke as Jirobo came at him again. Sasuke leapt around, then up and over his clumsy punches, and planted both his feet against Jirobo's face, kicking off and gaining some distance from him as the larger ninja tumbled backward in pain and surprise.

Sasuke landed on his feet and slid to a halt, his crimson eyes searching in front of him for his opponents, but only finding three of them. Then he heard a disgustingly smooth, smug voice behind him once again, close enough to whisper in his ear.

"You're just not strong enough."

Sasuke jumped forward and spun in the air to swipe at Sakon's throat like before, but the Sound ninja simply leaned backward, allowing Sasuke's fingers and the edge of his hand to miss him by a hair's breadth.

"What did you just say?" Sasuke demanded, getting some distance and eyeing Sakon angrily as the Sound Ninja Four reassembled in front of him, Tayuya seemingly unharmed despite trickles of blood coming from her nostrils and a hateful frown on her face to contrast her initial smirk.

"You're too weak to beat us, Sasuke Uchiha," Sakon repeated, sneering at him. "But you could be so much stronger."

Sasuke grit his teeth and snarled at the Sound ninja, eyeing each of them with his glowing red eyes. He didn't have time for this.

"If I let you talk, _then_ will you get the hell out of my way?"

"Heh." Kidomaru scoffed in amusement. "Bold words."

"Lord Orochimaru sent us," Jirobo began, his voice quite calm and polite, at odds with his comrades, and Tayuya in particular. "We've been watching you since last night, but never had a good moment to approach you."

To this, Sasuke raised a brow and narrowed his eyes. They'd been watching him? How did they get past the Leaf's security? Did the Leaf even have any security!? Sasuke would have to inform the Lady Hokage about this after he dealt with these freaks then dragged Naruto back to the village kicking and screaming.

"What is your purpose in this life?" Tayuya's voice cut through Sasuke's thoughts and brought him back to reality, the girl staring at him intently, though without malice. It seemed to Sasuke as though she was genuinely curious. But as she continued the same edge of condescension returned to her tone. "To stay in that backwater village, with all your little friends? Surely you haven't forgotten Itachi Uchiha?"

Sasuke's scowl deepened as the Sound girl mentioned his brother by name. Of course he hadn't forgotten. He hadn't forgotten how Itachi killed their whole clan. He hadn't forgotten how he tortured him, then only a child, with his mangekyo sharingan. And he hadn't forgotten that after he was done, Itachi had simply walked away, leaving Sasuke completely alone. The fact some no-name thug working for Orochimaru would dare question Sasuke's hate made the blood boil in his veins.

It was obvious to Sasuke by now that the Sound ninja were taking turns speaking like a good team of expendable, quirky henchmen, and as expected, just as Tayuya finished, Sakon picked up again.

"Lord Orochimaru offers you power - enough that you could even challenge your brother, the greatest Uchiha since Madara himself. You mustn't lose sight of your purpose. Life in that village is little more than bondage for you. Sever your ties to that pathetic place." He held his arms out wide and smirked. "If you can do that, there will be no limit to the power you can wield!"

Sasuke didn't answer at first, nor so much as move, simply glaring at the Sound ninja as his mind sped over what they'd said, while more thoughts, unbidden, came to him one after the other. The subject of Itachi being brought up had irritated Sasuke more than he thought it should have, and his mind was clouded with a sudden self-doubt. Why had their words struck him so deeply? Why did he care what these enemies who he'd just met thought about him and his brother?

It occured to him that despite calling himself an avenger, Sasuke still wasn't able to defeat Itachi when they'd met in that hotel. His hate wasn't strong enough; that's what Itachi told him.

But how could his hate get any stronger?

Sasuke hated Itachi in his entirety, of that he was certain. If Orochimaru could train him, make him strong enough to face his brother... But then he reconsidered. Itachi hadn't left the village to train with a criminal just to get strong. No, he himself had become the criminal. And if Sasuke went to Orochimaru, he'd be just like Itachi, wouldn't he? He'd be a traitor. He'd be abandoning everything he knew, leaving behind people who, ostensibly, cared about him - just like Itachi had.

It came to Sasuke suddenly, all in a rush, the fog of doubt clearing from the front of his mind. He felt like he could see clearly for the first time since his clan was murdered. He hated Itachi. And that's why he would never be like him. What would be the point of killing Itachi if he followed the same path? Even if he succeeded one day, Sasuke would just have to kill himself afterward, for, in his lust for power, he would have come to embody all the things he hated about Itachi.

Itachi killed his best friend Shisui to achieve mangekyo sharingan, and practically dared him to do the same. Sasuke resolved to do the opposite, just to spite his brother. He would not kill his best friend. He would not be like Itachi. He would bring Naruto back then apologize for whatever upset him enough to make him go rogue. He'd set things straight with Naruto, then have a fair fight with him, as Leaf ninja and equals - again, just to spite Itachi.

It didn't even matter if Sasuke never unlocked the mangekyo. His hate would be enough. It would drive him forward, to train and grow stonger. It would sharpen his mind and strengthen his blows more than a powerup to his eyes ever could. It would grant him patience - the patience to stay in the Leaf and build up his strength rather than charge blindly into battle like he had against Itachi the last time they'd met.

Itachi had killed his family and left Sasuke all alone. Well, too bad for him, Sasuke thought. He had a new family, and Itachi could never take that away from him. Sakura and Kakashi, and even Naruto... They were Sasuke's family now, and he'd do anything to protect them, to make up for all those he couldn't protect on _that_ night.

And if he couldn't bring Naruto back... If he couldn't save one friend, he supposed, then how could he ever be strong enough to defeat his brother?

"I've decided." Sasuke spoke at last, his voice low and menacing while the Sound Four quietly stood by, watching him and waiting in anticipation of his answer. Sakon raised a brow and his smirk grew wider.

"So, what's it going to be?"

The muscles around Sasuke's eyes tightened and his sharingan began to glow bright as his face contorted with rage and hate.

"I'm going to bring my friend home. But before that, I'm going to kill every one of you."

UUUUUUUU


	3. Dawn 3: Curse

_Fun Fact:_

 _In this story sharingan isn't godmode._

 **Chasing the Eternal Dawn 3: Curse**

Sasuke's hands flew together, weaving through a rapid set of handsigns to mould his chakra. He sucked in a deep breath, feeling a familiar warm sensation radiating from within him, then released it, calling out the name of his attack.

"Fire-Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A great burst of red fire spat from Sasuke's mouth and raged toward the Sound Four, sizzling through the air and singeing the grass below. They were momentarily taken aback, not quite expecting this to be Sasuke's response to their offer, but Orochimaru's elite recovered quickly, instinct driving them to scatter from the fireball's path before they even processed that it was coming. Then they went on the attack.

Sasuke could only barely track Sakon's movements as he sped forward and around his fire jutsu and skidded up beside him to throw a heavy punch at his face. He was ready for it though. His jutsu had blocked his opponents from charging him directly, meaning they'd have to come at him from the side or try to circle behind him. Either way, it put them right where he wanted them. He twisted to catch Sakon's blow with one hand, glaring directly into his eyes with slowly spinning sharingan, then formed a fist with his other to launch a counterattack.

Before his knuckles could break the lipsticking-wearing freak's jaw however, Sasuke felt a hammerstrike against his chest and was thrown back several feet to land harshly against the ground. He groaned in pain as he wondered where the blow had come from, recalling that none of Sakon's limbs were in position to hit him, before his eyes went wide, the androgenous leader of the Sound Four leaping into the air, his leg outstretched to stomp him.

Sakon's foot smashed against Sasuke's gut, but instead of the satisfying feeling of flesh caving under the force of his heel, it felt to him like kicking a tree. There was a puff of smoke around Sasuke, a log where he once was, and Sakon scowled at being fooled by a mere substitution. He immediately tried to turn in place to search for the Uchiha, but found his movement restricted, his eyes catching a glint of thin ninja wire wrapping around him. When had...?

Sasuke jumped down from the branches of a nearby tree, pulling up on the wire and bringing Sakon up with it. He'd entangled the Sound ninja the moment they first clashed after casting his fireball, and regardless what had hit him before, this time there was nothing that could get in the way.

While he pulled on his wire, Sasuke shifted in the air, mimicking the movements Rock Lee had displayed when they first met before the Chunin Exams, forcing Sakon up right into a spinning kick.

"Lion's Barrage Kick!" Sasuke howled the name of his taijutsu attack as his sandaled heel collided with Sakon's torso, the wire around him forcing his body to absorb the full impact of the kick and being slammed against the ground.

Without wasting a moment once the blow was fully delivered, Sasuke threw his hands against the grass to push himself off of Sakon and back to his feet, anticipating more attacks from the rest of the Sound Four. The whole exhange had only taken a few seconds at the most, but Sasuke rightly suspected the rest of the team wouldn't stand by and let him get away with pummeling their leader.

Out of the corner of his eye Sasuke saw Kidomaru racing toward him, and the Uchiha knew he wasn't going to be able to dodge. He only had time to bring up his arms to guard his face as Kidomaru lashed out with all six fists at once, two hitting his guard, two hitting him in the chest, and two hitting him in the stomach. The force was enough to send Sasuke flying away, eventually landing hard on his back and continuing to slide.

Despite the pain, Sasuke forced himself to back-somersault onto his feet, still sliding backward from the tremendous force of Kidomaru's punch, and caught sight of Jirobo charging his way. He brought his fingers together again.

"Fire-Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke pumped a huge quantity of chakra into his jutsu, and the fire that erupted from his mouth was even more impressive, spreading out in all directions and increasing in intensity, quickly growing to span more than a dozen meters.

This time Jirobo was too close to Sasuke's fireball attack to escape unscathed, and he hurried to form a series of handsigns.

"Earth-Style-" he began in what Sasuke was sure was a panic, "-Terra Shield Jutsu!"

Jirobo came to a stop before the fireball could reach him, a rectangular patch of earth lifting in front of him to offer up what little protection it could. Though it held against the blast and heat, the flame spread around the earthen barrier, licking at Jirobo himself, burning his skin and starting small fires at the edges of his tunic and purple belt.

With the last of his fireball cast, Sasuke was able to assess how much damage it'd done, and he was quite pleased. He couldn't see behind the terra shield, but could still hear as Jirobo cried out in distress and slapped the fires spreading across his clothes. He would have smirked, but there was no time to gloat as he spotted Tayuya at his left with murder in her eye.

She was fast, just as Sasuke was coming to expect from the Sound Four, and his sharingan weren't able to fully keep up, but from the look of her raised fist he expected a punch. Instead, when Tayuya closed the distance she ducked low, using her raised arm for balance as she stuck out a leg to sweep Sasuke off his feet. And before he could even hit the ground she'd braced her outstretched arm against the grass and brought up her other leg, carrying on her attack's momentum and launching a heavy kick at Sasuke's side.

"You're coming with us!" she barked. "I'll knock you out and drag you if I have to!"

Somehow Sasuke managed to see the kick coming in time and positioned an arm to block, but he was still hit hard, and he winced as he was sent tumbling away, bouncing against a tree then landing on all fours.

'Dammit.' He was breathing heavy from the pain, but stopped himself from crying out. 'They hit like a goddamn freight train!'

He pushed himself up in a frenzy, red eyes searching for danger and spotting Kidomaru coughing a gooey-looking white ball right at him. Sasuke dived out of the way, putting out his hands and pushing into a flip as he hit the dirt, landing on his feet and breaking into a run. The spider was shooting more of those things at him, what appeared to be web now that he had a moment to focus, and he had no intention of getting caught in it.

Kidomaru kept up the barrage of web balls, presumably able to make infinitely more so long as he had the chakra for it, missing Sasuke over and over, the Last Uchiha dodging and flipping to escape the sticky projectiles, then stopped, the edges of his mouth cast down in frustration.

"The punishment we'd receive for smacking you around would be infinitely better than if we returned to Lord Orochimaru empty-handed."

The assault of web balls may have stopped, but Sasuke kept running, searching the terrain for a spot to stand his ground when he heard a slippery, venomous whisper in his ear.

"Lord Orochimaru said you'd come with us willingly." Sakon had appeared beside him, running in time with him, his usual smirk now gone, replaced with a scowl.

Sasuke hadn't even noticed the Sound ninja's presence, and his eyes went wide in fright before he skidded to a halt, Sakon mirroring him and swinging a fist into his face.

The blow was enough to send Sasuke spiralling into the grass, but he pushed himself up once more, transitioning instantly into a backward dash then into a series of backflips to avoid a followup attack, finally landing feet-first high against the trunk of a tree. He instinctively applied chakra to his feet and through his sandals, and he stuck fast against the old tree, looking down at Sakon from behind a featureless expression, masking his pain as best he could.

Sakon huffed at Sasuke's retreat and his lips curled into a sneer of derision.

"What's stopping you? Don't you want to kill Itachi?"

Until this point Sasuke thought he'd been able to keep a firm control of his expression, not letting any of this thoughts or emotions show on his face. The mention of his brother was enough to demolish that carefully crafted neutral appearance, every memory of Itachi being brought to the surface again and shredding his composure. Sasuke snarled, fury bubbling within him and a burning starting at his neck. The pain from being hit began to recede, replaced with warmth, and Sasuke felt a thrill run through him. A black, firey pattern rippled out and spread across his face, and he clenched his jaw with rage, then bounded off the tree, suddenly faster and stronger, pouncing straight for Sakon.

"Don't even speak his name!"

Sasuke felt powerful, like he could take on anyone or anything. It was the same every time he used his curse mark, and internally he grinned in mad triumph, knowing with its power flowing through him these Sound Four were doomed.

Before he could close the distance though, the warmth Sasuke felt from unleashing his curse mark vanished, a shooting pain like electricity replacing it. He gasped and winced, and threw a hand against his neck where Orochimaru had once bitten him, still flying toward Sakon.

Sakon didn't appear at all bothered by Sasuke's direct assault, nor even surprised at the sight of him activating his curse mark, and he swung a heavy kick at Sasuke, his leg seeming to blur. It landed against the boy's left forearm and sent him sprawling to the ground once more, a shiver of pain feeding back through his system, informing him in an instant that the blow had cracked his bones.

"Excuse me?" Sakon taunted, looking down at Sasuke below him, scrambling back, not taking his crimson sharingan off him. "Don't speak whose name? You mean Itachi's, weakling?"

The pain from the curse mark alone was excruciating for Sasuke, and without willing it, the black flames across his face recoiled and returned to the three tomoe and seal around them at his neck. He clutched at his wounded arm, fighting to hold back tears that threatened at the corner of his eyes and gasping for breath.

'Dammit!' Sasuke shakily got to his feet and began jogging away from Sakon, turning his back on him, focusing his senses and hearing the Sound ninja snorting in amusement at his suffering. 'Dammit, dammit, dammit!'

Approaching a large tree Sasuke turned and leaned his back against it, returning his sight toward Sakon and seeing him slowly approaching. Tayuya, Kidomaru, and Jirobo were joining him, and Sasuke shook his head in a mix of disappointment with himself and annoyance.

"Damn curse mark," he swore to himself in a strained whisper. "It never works when I need it!"

Come to think of it, Orochimaru's curse mark had only helped him once, and that was when it first activated, coincidentally against the snake's own Sound genin. His control over the mark was almost non-existent, and it seemed to hurt him more often than not, leaving him drained of chakra and almost crippled for the rest of a battle.

"It's more trouble than it's worth!" he spat.

What good was a powerup if it couldn't be counted on to actually help? It could grant Sasuke all the power in the world but it would still be worthless if it malfunctioned in the heat of the moment and got him killed. He was lucky the Sound Four apparently wanted him alive, or else Sakon would've done more than crack a few bones. If his opponent had been Itachi instead...

Why wasn't he strong enough? He wasn't strong enough to beat Itachi, and before that Gaara had thrown him around like he was nothing. Naruto meanwhile, that obnoxious blond who always defied expectations - he'd grown stronger than Sasuke ever could have believed, and he'd never relied on some outside force for that strength. He had an inner power, like he was fueled by sheer determination. He had no curse mark, and if he did he would surely shun it. That was just the way he was. He'd rather struggle pointlessly on than take the easy way out - than to accept a handout.

Sasuke frowned. How had he strayed so far from the path he'd set out for himself? He'd decided long ago that he would become powerful enough to defeat Itachi, and he'd do it by his own hand. It was his duty as the Last Uchiha. He couldn't accept any help. It had to be him and him alone. If he defeated Itachi with borrowed power, then it may as well have not been his victory at all.

Returning to the moment, Sasuke took a deep breath to help take his mind off the pain in his arm and at his neck. What a fool he'd been to lose his patience like that. If he'd just kept his temper under control and focused on using his eyes - his kekkai genkai that he knew he could rely on - he wouldn't have gotten himself hurt and backed into a corner.

He felt something in his eyes - a tingling sensation.

His sharingan was his greatest asset, and he would be best served by using it to its fullest rather than pulling out an unreliable power like the curse mark.

He felt as though the world seemed to be coming into greater focus, every detail becoming sharper to his vision.

And besides, the curse mark was forced on him at the point of Orochimaru's teeth. The damned snake could probably control when he was able to use it - could maybe even control him with it! Using it for his own gain in the short run would probably only lead to trouble in the long run, if it didn't just outright refuse to work.

The Sound Four were drawing closer, grinning at him and cackling at his weakness, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes and spat.

"To hell with it, then!" They paused at his outburst, watching him questioningly. "I don't need this stupid thing to be strong."

Sasuke thought of Naruto, always rising to every challenge with a grin and unwavering confidence in himself, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"I'm an Uchiha - I already am strong!"

Unknown to him, Sasuke's eyes flared with power, glowing just a bit brighter and one tomoe in each eye splitting into two, becoming a total of three black teardrops against a curtain of piercing crimson. The Sound Four saw the change though, and in quick response they charged faster than ever.

Sasuke's sharingan had slowly been spinning since he activated them at the beginning of the fight, and now they sped up, faster and faster, and his brow furrowed in confusion at what he was seeing.

'Why are they so slow?'

All four of Orochimaru's elite guard descended on Sasuke, but he weaved around them, blocking and countering their attacks like they were standing still. Jirobo threw a heavy punch at Sasuke, but he saw it coming - saw the outline of his fist before Jirobo even starting swinging it. Sasuke dodged underneath and around the attack, reaching out one hand to simply push the punch aside.

"I can see," he muttered to himself in bemusement.

At the same time, Sakon came from the other side with a punch of his own, and Sasuke caught it with his free hand. Then the most peculiar thing happened. Another fist appeared, popping out of Sakon's chest. That must've been his trick that was giving Sasuke so much trouble. How he hadn't seen it before, he had no idea, but he saw it now, and Sasuke tightened his grip on his opponent's clenched fist and threw him aside before the mysterious extra limb could hit him, following up with a roundhouse kick into Sakon's back.

He was in awe of this sudden turn of events, and he repeated triumphantly:

"I can see!"

Sasuke leapt back to escape being surrounded by his foes, the four of them scattering again to try to press their numbers advantage. Sasuke only smirked.

"That hardly worked on me before. It really won't work now!"

Kidomaru had remained in his position, and with his sharingan Sasuke could see he was about to vomit out another ball of webbing, so in response he flung his fingers together, weaving through a rapid set of handsigns then charging at the spider, his left hand bathed in crackling, chirping blue and white lightning.

Sasuke dodged aside as Kidomaru targeted him with a web ball, tracking its trajectory before it was even launched, then swung his lightning-enhanced fist, shearing through another web ball aimed at his head, then leapt over another directed at his legs, never slowing as he sped toward his spidery foe.

He saw every detail, could follow every one of Kidomaru's moves clearly, and could even tell that something was oozing out of Kidomaru's skin, coating him like armour. To his enhanced sight, it appeared to Sasuke to give off a pale blue glow, just like Kidomaru's webbing, indicating it was filled with chakra, and internally Sasuke laughed. A defence like that wouldn't stop him.

As Sasuke descended on Kidomaru, his left hand sparking with power, he shouted the name of his attack and thrust it ahead of him.

"Chidori!"

Sasuke's jutsu connected, his hand slicing right through Kidomaru's hardened web shell and slashing one of his arms off at the shoulder, a gush of blood spurting from the wound followed by a scream of pain and shock, Kidomaru collapsing to his knees as Sasuke skidded to a halt behind him.

"Kidomaru!" Tayuya called, seemingly more in astonishment than concern.

Sasuke glanced around to find her standing a fair distance away, and he fell into a combat stance expecting her to assist her comrade. But strangely his sharingan didn't pick up any sign of her moving to attack, instead noticing by her posture that she was tense, as if waiting for something.

The Uchiha dashed farther away from Tayuya and Kidomaru to get a better view of his opponents, noticing from the corner of his eye that Kidomaru was spitting a bundle of web onto his arm stump to stanch the bleeding. Then he saw what Tayuya was waiting for. Jirobo was approaching, his hands coming together to form a set of seals.

'A jutsu like that?' Sasuke smirked as his fingers flew together once more, copying Jirobo's movements exactly. 'That's child's play for these eyes!'

In hardly a second Jirobo's jutsu was prepared, and he raised his arms intending to slam his open palms against the ground.

"Earth-Style Barrier," he declared, "Earth-!"

"-Dome Prison!" Sasuke finished, completing the technique before Jirobo.

Sasuke hammered his palms against the ground and it trembled beneath him, responding to his chakra and causing great chunks to sprout up to surround his opponent. Jirobo was only able to gasp a confused "What...!?" before the dirt and rock completely closed around him, locking him inside the massive dome of earth.

There was no time for rest though as Sasuke spotted Tayuya and Sakon charging him from either side once again. They apparently quite liked that tactic. Unfortunately for the Sound ninja though, Sasuke was ready for it this time, and he glared in Tayuya's direction, their eyes meeting and the hypnotic power of his sharingan dazing her, freezing her in her tracks.

Sasuke wasted no time and bounded at Tayuya, Sakon running after him, and drove his fist into her gut, snapping her out of her trance in an instant. She doubled over, the wind driven from her lungs, and Sasuke snatched out, grabbing her by the head, a hand on each side. His fingers dug into her temples and her hair and he pulled, his knee coming up to meet Tayuya's face with a sickening crunch.

He let go and spun, knowing better than to watch her falling onto her back, and raised a hand to effortlessly catch a full-force punch from Sakon. The strength behind it would have been enough to crack Sasuke's skull, but he'd seen the move coming a mere fraction of a second before it was too late to react. And just like before, when he'd gotten an advantage over Sakon, an appendage shot out from his chest to strike at him, this time a foot.

This time Sasuke was ready for the surprise attack, and he shifted his stance, no wasted energy in his movements, guiding Sakon's momentum to continue straight past him, then reaching out his other hand to grab the phantom kick by the ankle. He lashed out with a kick of his own, releasing his hold on Sakon's arm as he did, throwing the Sound ninja away and pulling on the strange extra limb.

"Well," Sasuke began, his cocky tone mixed with curiousity, "what have we here?"

Sakon landed on his back a short distance away, but something had indeed come out of him. The leg was attached to a whole person, another Sakon, a mirror image of him, and Sasuke had pulled him clean out of his hiding place and thrown him to the ground. Sasuke couldn't help but notice with his sharingan active that he wasn't a clone of any kind either. Neither of them were chakra constructs which could only mean they were both individual people; probably another one of Orochimaru's experiments like the spidery Kidomaru.

Sasuke jumped back to gain some distance as Sakon and his twin began picking themselves up off the grass and smirked.

"That's a strange jutsu you've got there. It must be a kekkei genkai."

The two Sakons only looked to each other and frowned, then one touched his hand onto the other and melded into him, his head protruding from the back of the other's neck.

"You're quick-witted, little Uchiha," Sakon hissed, all traces of his earlier cruel arrogance completely gone, replaced with seething irritation. "My brother Ukon and I share very special bodies indeed. Each of us can fuse ourselves with the other at will. But maybe you'd like to see-" Sasuke's eyes went wide in alarm as trails of inky black spread up from Sakon's neck and over his face, "-what our jutsu can do when we use our curse mark?"

Sasuke gulped and he felt a bead of sweat run down his brow at the sight of Sakon's own curse mark. He checked his surroundings briefly and found that Jirobo had broken out of his earth barrier, similar streams of black flowing from his neck. Tayuya was just getting up, apparently having been knocked out of the fight for a few brief moments, lines of sharp black extending from her neck underneath the blood and bruises of the injuries Sasuke had dealt her. Kidomaru was stumbling up to join them as well, curls of black twisting out from his neck and over his face, apparently giving him the strength to stay conscious and not go into shock from losing an arm and far too much blood.

'They have curse marks too?' Sasuke's whole body tensed as he glanced back and forth between the Sound ninja. 'What's it going to take to put these guys down!?'

"Did you think you were Orochimaru's only pet?" Sakon rasped. "We all have curse marks just like you. And unlike you, we can control them."

Sasuke's ears pricked up at the mention of being able to control the curse mark, and as if Sakon knew just what nerves to hit, he continued.

"Come with us and you can obtain that same power for yourself. You're more than worthy."

Power. That's what this was all about. Sasuke needed power - power to defeat Itachi, power to restore the Uchiha Clan, power to...

"No."

Sakon's frown only deepened at Sasuke's sudden refusal.

"No?" he echoed mockingly. "You're telling us no?"

"It's about more than power now. I have more to worry about than just defeating Itachi." Sasuke's face hardened and he eased into the traditional Uchiha taijutsu stance. "I also have to go find Naruto and bring him home. So no. I can't go to Orochimaru, even if I wanted to."

"Hm!" Sakon scoffed, and each of the Sound Four leaned in, as if Sasuke were their prey and they were readying themselves to pounce. "Not impressed? Maybe you'd change your mind if you saw 'Stage Two'..."

Sasuke breathed in and narrowed his eyes, watching carefully and preparing for the inevitable assault. They'd be stronger now with those curse marks active. He was just starting to turn things around and now he found out they could get stronger - as much as ten times stronger each, or maybe even more. Sasuke would fight as best he could, but he wasn't convinced he could take them all out with that much sinister power coursing through them.

The Sound Four moved to attack, but before they even took a step they paused, then leapt back to regroup a long distance from Sasuke. He couldn't hear what they were whispering to each other, but he could see it. He watched the movements of their mouths with his sharingan and knew instantly.

'Reinforcements from the Leaf...!'

A number of figures sprang down from the trees to land protectively in front of Sasuke, and he looked them over, not feeling especially impressed with his saviours. For one, none of them appeared much older than him, and on closer inspection he realized he recognized them. One of them looked to Sasuke like he was wider than he was tall. Another one had a dog resting on top of his fur-trimmed hood. Then there were two Hyugas - Sasuke could tell from their deep, soulful eyes - one boy and a girl with short blue hair. Last was the apparent leader of the group, the only one wearing a flak vest and the crest of the Nara Clan on the shoulders of his shirt.

"Sasuke," their leader greeted lazily.

Sasuke frowned as he tried to place where he'd seen these Leaf shinobi before.

"I know you..."

"I should hope so." The chunin spoke slowly in a drawl, but it was clear he wasn't as carefree as he seemed. Out of the corner of his eye he was watching the Sound Four, standing back and waiting, watching the Leaf ninja just as intently as they got into a tight defensive formation around Sasuke and their captain. "We went to the Academy together. 'cept for Neji."

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed, looking to the genius from the Uchihas' rival clan, "Neji Hyuga - from the Chunin Exams. I remember you."

There was a pause and the Nara waited for Sasuke to continue, and when he didn't he groaned.

"Wow, thanks for remembering the rest of us." He pointed to himself then the others in his team one at a time, stating a name then moving on to the next. "Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Hinata. We're here on the Lady Hokage's orders."

NNNNNNNNN

Earlier that day Shikamaru received a summons at his home from Tsunade and was escorted to the Hokage Tower by Kotetsu and Izumo. He wasn't sure what the fuss was all about, but could tell whatever she wanted from him it was going to be a drag.

Upon entering her office Shikamaru was introduced by Tsunade's two aides, who then promptly stepped out, leaving him completely alone with the Sannin, not even Shizune anywhere to be found. She seemed tense, leaning her elbows on her desk with her fingers locked in front of her mouth, eyes narrowed, glaring into his own.

"Shikamaru Nara," she addressed purposefully. "What we're about to discuss is top secret - S-class."

Shikamaru hesitated to speak, his eyes widening and his new green flak vest, awarded to him for passing the Chunin Exams, all of a sudden feeling especially heavy against his shoulders. His mouth opened but no sound came out, his mind racing and failing to determine what the purpose of this meeting happened to be. Of course he had only to wait a moment longer before Tsunade revealed it to him.

"Naruto Uzumaki has left the village."

"He what!?" Shikamaru responded without thinking. "Naruto's gone rogue!?"

Tsunade let out a defeated breath, despite her outward appearance of youth seeming suddenly very old and tired.

"I'm not going to classify him as rogue just yet. We don't know why he left, only that he did sometime last night. His teammate Sasuke Uchiha has already begun to pursue him with the intent of retrieving him. I want you to assemble a team and move out immediately to support his efforts and bring Naruto back."

"You're putting me in charge?" He was a chunin now, but Shikamaru hardly expected he'd be leading a team so soon, if ever.

"I am. As I said, it is of the utmost importance that this matter remain secret. That is why I selected you. This mission I'm assigning you is of A-rank importance at least, but I'll post it as a C-rank."

Shikamaru saw the logic in Tsunade's choice. If she assigned a squad of ANBU to get Naruto it would certainly be noticed. If she sent out jonin or even chunin, once again it wouldn't go overlooked by whoever the hokage was so worried might be interested. Sending Shikamaru meant the operation could be safely dismissed by onlookers as an exercise for him to get acclimated to being in charge. And if anyone still found it suspicious, the records would state that it was a C-rank assignment, probably even with a false description. Why she was being so careful though, Shikamaru didn't have a clue.

He cleared his throat.

"Alright. But you said for me to assemble a team. I don't know many chunin to bring with me."

"Only bring genin with you -" she commanded, much to the boy's apprehension, "- the most talented you can find on short notice. Bringing chunin for a C-rank mission would draw too much attention."

Shikamaru supposed it made sense. Besides, Orochimaru's attack on the Leaf depleted much of their manpower, and even a casual observer could tell every chunin and jonin in the village was running constant missions to keep up the illusion of the Leaf's strength. The hokage probably didn't have anything above a genin to spare anyway.

"What a drag..." Shikamaru frowned, but his posture stiffened, and he looked Tsunade in the eye with conviction and the most professionalism he could muster. "I'll see it done, Lady Hokage."

"One last thing before you go." Tsunade's brow furrowed and she sat back in her chair. "Remember, the details of your deployment will be altered in the records. You must carry this mission out with absolute secrecy, and can therefore expect to receive no reinforcements. Rendez-vous with Sasuke and track Naruto down, then return as if nothing happened. As far as anyone in the village will know, Naruto never left. Understood?"

"Understood."

With that, Shikamaru bowed and turned to leave.

He didn't know for sure why Naruto would abandon the village, but he had a good idea. He acted aloof, but Shikamaru was no fool, and over the years he slowly began to notice the way adults treated the orange-loving troublemaker. The other kids had picked up on the social cues of their parents and neighbours, and for years had taunted him relentlessly. It was possible Naruto's excitable exterior was just a way to cope with the mistreatment, and underneath it all he was really hurting. Or it was possible that he got angry about something and, in typical impulsive fashion, overreacted and left. Not that Naruto was well-known for giving up...

The first place Shikamaru went looking for a genin to add to his team was the household of the Akimichi Clan. There he found Choji, his teammate under the tutelage of Asuma and his best friend in the whole world. They worked well together, so it was only natural, Shikamaru figured, to ask him to join the team.

Kiba Inuzuka was walking his dog Akamaru nearby at the time and overheard the two talking, and instantly volunteered to come along. He wanted a rematch with Naruto after losing to him during the Chunin Exams, and he'd never get it if the knucklehead didn't come home. His sense of smell would simplify tracking him down too, so Shikamaru accepted his help without a second thought.

On the way to the main gate they came across Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee, and though Lee was still recovering from surgery and couldn't join them, Neji volunteered in his stead. He owed Naruto a lot for the words he'd said in their own fight during the Chunin Exams, the brash blond changing his perspective on life, and allowing him to repair his relations with both his uncle and his cousin. It was only right that he do the same for Naruto and try to talk him down from leaving the Leaf and becoming lost in rage and despair, just as he had once been.

Finally, the team arrived at the gates and were ready to leave. They couldn't afford to waste time searching for more genin, so had to go with who they had. Shikamaru ordered a quick review of everyone's equipment and found it acceptable, then turned to face the forest beyond the village walls.

"Here we go," he muttered, more for himself than for the benefit of his team.

He was about to take his first step out of the village as a chunin, a team of shinobi at his back, when he was stopped by a cry to wait.

Shikamaru looked back behind him, Choji, Kiba, and Neji doing the same, and found a small girl with short blue hair and pale eyes running up to meet them.

Kiba was the first to say anything - a bark of recognition.

"Hinata?"

Hinata stopped before the team, cheeks red and her breathing heavy.

"You're going to find Naruto, aren't you?" she wondered to no one in particular, though Shikamaru swiftly rushed over to silence her. Their mission was top secret, and it wouldn't do to speak so openly about it.

"Shh!" He held up an urging hand and Hinata hurriedly covered her mouth in embarrassment. "How'd you find out about that?"

"Oh! Well... I was just... I happened to see earlier..."

Neji's jaw dropped and he stepped forward, whispering a quick rebuke.

"Lady Hinata!"

It was all he had to say for the girl to understand what he was upset about. Their shared byakugan was a powerful dojutsu, and in a confined area like the Leaf it rendered privacy nonexistent. As a result, using the kekkei genkai within the village was heavily frowned upon by non-Hyugas, and the clan did their best to be polite and keep their enhanced sight out of others' affairs.

Hinata's face turned a shade redder and she shook her head frantically.

"I didn't use byakugan! I just..." She paused and looked at her feet before continuing, a hint of shame in her tone. "I just happened to be walking by the training grounds this morning and overheard that Naruto was missing."

Shikamaru was not convinced by her story, but Neji and Kiba seemed to react with understanding, reassuring him that whatever she was trying to hide with her convenient alibi, it wasn't serious.

Before speaking again, this time Hinata looked round to make sure no one was listening, then continued in a hush.

"Please let me come with you! I want to help find Naruto."

"Hm." Shikamaru frowned, his face taking on a hybrid expression of boredom and annoyance. "Alright, but we have to get moving. The longer we wait the farther ahead of us Naruto and Sasuke get. Remember: Naruto may be a drag for the most part, but he's a Leaf ninja, the same as any of us. This place is as much his home as it is ours. So let's bring him home."

The others in Shikamaru's hastily assembled genin team nodded one, resolve sharpening their discipline, and with a chop of his hand to signal the start of their operation, the five shinobi bolted out the Leaf's gates and into the forest beyond.

NNNNNNNNN

Sasuke glared with his sharingan eyes into Shikamaru's own beady grey ones.

"How'd you find me?" he questioned roughly.

Kiba's dog woofed with pride and Sasuke let out a hum of understanding. They'd tracked him by his scent, then.

Kiba himself spoke up next, though not moving from his spot with the rest of his comrades, eyeing the Sound Four.

"Lady Tsunade sent us to help you get Naruto. How'd you know where he was going?"

"So," Sasuke began, the ghost of a smirk starting at the edges of his mouth, "I was right. He was going this way."

Choji broke formation to whip around and gawk at Sasuke.

"You mean you didn't know for sure?" His disbelief was shared by Shikamaru, but the Nara stayed silent, watching Sasuke carefully, observing his every move as if there were some hidden meaning behind them. "You just started running in a random direction?"

"I had a hunch," Sasuke answered shortly, his nose wrinkling at the sight of the Akimichi. "I know Naruto."

If Sasuke was correct, Naruto felt abandoned by the Leaf, for whatever reason, so he in turn abandoned it. He likely wanted to get away from everyone and everything he knew, for what reason Sasuke couldn't yet fathom, though he intended to find out, and combined with his adventurous, boisterous spirit, it seemed most likely Naruto would be going somewhere completely foreign and new to him. He'd been east of the Land of Fire before, in the Land of Waves, south, to the Land of Tea, north to the Land of Snow, but never west, so that was the first direction Sasuke thought to go looking for him.

By Sasuke's reasoning, there was only one path that led him to Naruto.

Shikamaru raised a brow as Sasuke's words, then nodded his head at the Sound ninja standing a distance away, watching them and waiting.

"And who're these guys?"

"Orochimaru's personal guard, apparently. I was planning on killing them since they were in my way, but now that you're here I'll leave them to you." The glow of Sasuke's sharingan faded and his eyes returned to their usual black. "I'm going after Naruto."

"Fair enough," Shikamaru sighed with a shrug. "We were only sent to support you."

Shikamaru looked back to his team. As expected they were still observing the Sound ninja for any trace of movement - that is, all expect one. Shikamaru's eyes locked with Hinata's, peeking back to watch his exchange with Sasuke, and she jerked in surprise and embarrassment as she realized he knew she wasn't paying attention to their enemies standing a distance away.

Was she curious about Sasuke? Or did she want to know more about Naruto's situation? Shikamaru pondered it for only a moment.

"One thing though," he added slowly, his eyes lingering on Hinata before turning back to Sasuke. "Bring Hinata with you."

From behind them Hinata let out a small gasp of surprise and Neji and Kiba's eyes darted briefly in her direction. When Sasuke's frown deepened, Shikamaru decided a clarification was needed.

"You may be going in the right general direction, but you have no way of accurately tracking Naruto. She can be your eyes."

Sasuke's first instinct was to take the Nara's words as a slight against him, and worse, his sharingan. But, he supposed, she was a Hyuga, the cousin clan of the Uchiha and the bearer of the only kekkei genkai he perceived to be on equal footing with his own. The way he understood it, the Hyugas' byakugan had overall visibility on its side while the Uchiha sharingan excelled at perceiving details - quantity against quality. And if Naruto happened to be nearby but simply behind something, he'd never see him. The byakugan would have no such trouble.

"Fine," Sasuke huffed, then pointed to the Sound ninja, still waiting for a chance to get at him."The big guy can do Earth jutsus. That guy can shoot web. That one is two people that attack from the same body. The girl hasn't done anything yet and is the weakest at taijutsu."

With that information passed along, Sasuke shoved past Shikamaru and approached Hinata, getting altogether too close for her liking, his eyes boring down into her own, black against white.

"Come." Hinata shivered at his commanding tone. "Let's go."

Sasuke's eyes went blood red as he reactivated his sharingan, and he turned his back on Hinata to leave.

"Ah...!" she gasped in surprise, then nodded, focusing her chakra and activating her byakugan. "Right!"

They bounded off, one after the next, but the Sound Four clearly had no intention of letting them go so easily.

"Not so fast!" Sakon snarled, breaking into a run after Sasuke, disregarding Shikamaru and his genin completely.

Jirobo followed after him, Kidomaru and Tayuya lagging slightly behind from their injuries.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Tayuya called to the Uchiha. "You little punk!"

Before they'd gotten more than a few steps though, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"A better question," came the breezy cool voice of Shikamaru, standing with his team, his hands clasped together, "is where do you think you're going?"

Each of Orochimaru's elite guard struggled, exerting every effort to move their limbs, but finding they wouldn't cooperate.

"What is this...?" Sakon growled.

Shikamaru's expression didn't change. He showed no pity for them nor any sign of pride. To him, this was all just another chore, and he spoke the name of his technique.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu."

His shadow was dark and merged with his opponents', and he stood still, letting them wrestle against his jutsu's control to avail. After all, he was only there to support Sasuke, and that meant stalling his pursuers. He wouldn't fight them if he didn't have to - he'd seen how worn out Sasuke was, and according to him they still hadn't shown their full power yet. As confident as he was about his own team's strength, Shikamaru still couldn't be sure if they'd stand a chance against them.

Choji, Kiba and Akamaru, and Neji all stepped up to stand alongside their chunin leader, an assortment of feelings displayed on their faces as they took note of Shikamaru's prisoners, struggling against their own shadows.

"You know," Shikamaru began wistfully, "I never really got to know Sasuke. In fact, I never liked the guy."

He paused to collect his thoughts before continuing.

"But Naruto's not so bad, I suppose. And since Sasuke's going after him, I guess I gotta cut him some slack." Despite his earlier hope to not engage the Sound Four, Shikamaru could already tell they were breaking out of his jutsu. Black marks were extending across their faces from their necks, and the more area the marks covered the stronger they seemingly became. "I don't know what business these guys have with Sasuke, but the way I see it, they're in the way of him finding Naruto."

He turned his head back and forth, looking upon each member of his team - the first team on which he could call himself captain - gauging their expressions.

Choji was as imperturbable as ever, one hand supporting a bag of barbecue potatato chips and the other snatching and shoving the snack into his waiting mouth. Neji's brow was low over narrowed white eyes, and Shikamaru figured he was thinking about Naruto and mentally preparing for the battle that was fast approaching. Kiba's stance was easy and unconcerned, and his lip was peeled just far enough back in a smirk to show off one of his razor fangs.

With one last effort the Sound Four broke free of Shikamaru's power, forcing him to pull his shadow back and watch as they directed their hate at him and began to approach, absolutely furious with him for interrupting their fight with Sasuke. It seemed he'd gotten their attention. Now he would just have to hold it until Sasuke and Hinata found Naruto and escorted him home.

"And," he said finally, "I'm not going to let them interfere. Are you?"

The genin looked to Shikamaru and then each other questioningly. Choji grabbed his last chip then stuffed the empty bag into a pocket. Neji nodded once and smiled proudly. Akamaru yelped his agreement and Kiba scoffed.

"Not a chance."

NNNNNNN


End file.
